New Friend Request
by xStarvationxDarlingx
Summary: Never meet people you meet online. She found out the hard way. We all knew that MySpace caused drama, but ever since she met Bakura, there wasn't a single comfort she had left... [Summary sucks, its good trust me!]
1. New Friends Request

Me: Hello All!

Bakura: What are you planning, now?

Me: I saw a story about YuGiOh and MySpace, so I decided I want to write my own!"

Bakura: …why??

Me: …..I'm Bored

Bakura: --

Me: Read and review at the end, mmk kids? It gets good D

Yami: sighs Do I have to…?

Me: jabs with a pole

Yami: holds up cardboard sign, speaks in a monotone Starvation Darling [current penname does not own YGO or MySpace….Don't sue.

Me: 

"Shiyu!" her mother called up her stairs again, "Are you getting ready for bed?"

"Hai, okaasan!" the teenage girl called back, but was really only in her pajamas at her computer, furiously typing away with her friends.

"I'm going to sleep, get yourself off to school in the morning!"

"Hai, oyasumi nasai!" And with that, she heard her mother walk to her bedroom and close the door.

Now, she was able to finish her conversations in peace. Not only that, but she was finishing the touch ups on her new background – the teen smiled, her straight white teeth gleaming from the soft glow of her computer screen. She loved making her own codes and backgrounds and layouts – it was all amazing decoration, ways to show your true colors. Whore trains in bulletins, comments in scroll boxes, you name it. If it was possible to put it on MySpace, then Shiyu could make it.

A tiny orange box at the bottom of her computer blinked, and she clicked it. It was her friend, Elie.

**Elie**: Shiyu-kun, what's the code for the link? I forgot…

Shiyu smiled and replied back.

**Shi-Kun3: **a href"paste" Text. /a

**Elie:**_ Thank you!!!_

Shiyu laughed. Elie was usually the only one up this late at night she talked to, and one of her best friends. Hideki was a strong over achiever and usually asleep by now, Junoshi was probably playing his games, and Raziel-kun was Elie's sister, so chances are he was reading over her shoulder or playing games with Junoshi.

All was well, however, because not only was she talking to Elie, but she was making small talk with her many MySpace acquaintances. Comments, messages, picture comments, bulletins – you name it. But, as the night grew on, it people began to dwindle off. First, messages slowed, then comments ceased and bulletins seemed frozen on the 'recently posted' board. As 11 rolled around, even Elie retreated to bed.

**Elie:** Shiyu-chan, Raziel-sama is bothering me to get off and get some sleep… I am sleepy, I'll see you in the morning before school?

**Shi-Kun3: **Alright, nasai El-kun. I'll see you in the morning!

With that being said, her friend logged off.

Shiyu stayed up. Her speakers beating gentle J-Pop beats at her [currently it was the opening theme of Chobits. After she finished her HTML codes, she applied it to her account and saved – Perfect!

It was a skinny layout, with hidden comments and drop-down layouts to show her favorite anime, games and bands. Her top friends were her best, and her background music was an amazing piano-inspired theme from Advent Children (AN: ALL MY FANS OUT THERE! D) She grinned, satisfied until next week.

She returned to her homepage, but paused. New friends request…? It was nearly midnight. She clicked the link, and decided to check it out – knowing her curiosity would get the best of her before the morning anyway.

The display picture was a boy wearing dark pants and his shirt part way unbuttoned, positioned in front of a mirror with a camera in his hand and the other hand in his pocket. He had long white-blonde hair covering part of his eyes – but, from what Shiyu could tell, he looked close to her age. So, she added him.

By the time she went back to her homepage, she noticed new messages. Going to her inbox, she saw that it was from the boy. She opened it.

_ Hey, why up so late??_

Shiyu replied back, 'I could ask you the same thing. Do I know you?'

Once again, by the time she got to her homepage, he had replied back.

_ No, but you could. I promise, I'm not a stalker or a creep. I live within a 10 mile radius of you, I was browsing for people around my school and rival areas. You just happened to be awake, and your picture caught my eye. Nice hair._

Shiyu smiled. Her hair – just as was in her Display picture – was honey blonde, with pink tips and ebony and ivory pieces through it. She loved her hair, but was close to being expelled from her school for dress code issues. However, being a good in class, attendance and citizenship, they couldn't mark her as a troublemaker. She sighed, thinking of Jikega-san, her ex boyfriend, who's middle name might as well have been trouble. Tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, Shiyu smiled and typed: 'Thank you, which school do you attend? Why are you up so late?'

She didn't bother going to her homepage, just clicked her inbox and the strangers reply.

_ I'm a Domino student. And I can't sleep, I'm feeling restless, but all my friends are asleep, so I got online._

'That often happens to me,' Shiyu wrote more freely, letting her guard down. For some reason, she felt something about this person – he didn't feel threatening, and perhaps they could become friends outside of the internet. She smiled and continued, 'My friends fall asleep far too early for me, they leave me bored. I go to Mizuke Academy.'

Send.

Click.

Read.

_ Mizuke? Wow, that's closer than I thought! I live in that area, too. My friend owns the game shop that marks the half-way point. We go there a lot._

Shiyu laughed, 'I go there all the time!' she wrote, 'It's amazing we live that close, haha. I love games, I wouldn't be surprised if we'd ran into each other.'

The night bore on with the two talking and getting to know each other. They had the same taste in music, love for games, fashion – everything. Shiyu loved talking to her new friend, and didn't even notice that –

'Wow, it's 2 am.' She wrote, 'I have school in the morning, sorry. Can we talk tomorrow?'

_ I'm looking forward to it. By the way…what's your name?_

Shiyu hesitated for a moment. 'Shiyu. Yours?'

_ Call me Bakura-San. You have a very pretty name, it matches your very pretty face. _

Shiyu blushed, then typed 'Aw, arigato. Good night, Bakura-kun.'

_ Sweet dreams, Shiyu-kun._

Shiyu turned off her computer and crawled into her bed, giddy as she was sleepy. As she closed her eyes her brain was filled with the person she had just met. They had so much in common, and it was so easy to talk to him…and he lived so close…

As she drifted off to sleep, she had no idea what lay ahead of her.

Me: OooOOooOoOOooOoO!!!!!!!

Yami: The plot thickens?

Me: nods Well, well. There's chapter one, please read and review bows They make me work faster -

Bakura: It takes a few to give her motivation

Seto: Motivation to write this crap?

Me: Hey, you have to be nice, its in the rules!

Seto: SCREW THE RULES I'VE GOT GREEN HAIR!! runs off

Yami/Bakura: ….

Me: ….Shadow Games Better that Duel Monsters

NOTE: Watch YuGiOh! Abridged…its amazing. AND Shadow Games, its better than the original

R&R 3


	2. Bitter Apples

Me: So, pretty much, I hate format thing.

Yami: She can't make it look…"professional."

Me: -anime flames- You may be Pharaoh Atemu, but I can still kick your ass.

Yami: o.o

Me: -grins- Read and review, please. Here's chapter two! Seto, disclaimer, please?

Seto: SCREW THE DISCLAIMER I HAVE MONEY! –runs off-

All: ….

Me: Fine, they can sue you, not me. Please make out all fraud letters to "Kaiba Corp. PO Box 97-"

Seto: AUTHORESS DOESN'T OWN YUGIOH OR MYSPACE!

Me: -pats head- Good boy.

Seto: -grumble-

…………………………………………………..

Shiyu awoke the next morning before her alarm clock, butterflies still in her stomach from Bakura the night before. She wondered, would she see him if she stopped by the game shop after school? Would he email her later? Would they have to wait until each night to speak?

Walking into her bathroom she pulled her long hair out of its ponytail, watching it cascade over her shoulders as she looked at herself in the mirror. Shiyu was always told of her beauty, but wrinkled her nose – she looked just like any other girl. She had curves, soft skin and long eyelashes – she just knew how to dress and do her makeup well. Yea, that was the answer. Shiyu hated thinking that she was better than anyone else, and didn't like it when people told her she was. It was rude.

Peeling her clothes off as she checked the water temperature for her shower, she thought about what classes she had today and how quickly they'd be over with. English, Dance, Trig, Honors Kanji, Clothing… It wouldn't be too bad. 'I should have given him my cell…' Shiyu thought as she rinsed conditioner out of her hair, smiling at the thought of Bakura-kun texting her during school!

She giggled at what they'd talk about as she climbed out and wrapped a towel around herself, then remembered that she'd only talked to this boy for a few hours, and already he was having this effect on her. How was he in real life? Charming? Handsome? How was his page? Shiyu hadn't even checked his page, she'd just talked to him right off the bat. How very unusual of her…

Her mind wandered from this subject not too often as she dried and styled her hair, did her make up, got dressed and went to school. The whole walk she nearly skipped. What was with her today?

As she reached the school grounds her feet automatically took her to the spot where she always met up with her best friends. Today, as usual, Elie and Hideki were the first there. Elie saw Shiyu heading their way and waved, "Ohai-gonzaimasu!" she called. Hideki turned and waved also.

Shiyu jogged up to the girls, "Hi!" she said cheerfully, "where's everyone else?"

"Coming," said a girl with silken black hair, pale skin, beautiful eyes and a desirable body, "They probably went to get breakfast."

"Yea," said the other, much shorter girl, "You know how boys are. Especially these dweebs…"

Shiyu laughed at Hideki. She was the oldest in the group, and the shortest with long black hair, darker skin and large eyes that were almost black. These were the three girls in the group. The three boys would soon make their appearance.

"So, did you finish your layout?" Shiyu asked Elie.

Elie nodded, "Yes! Thank you!" and smiled, "You guys are great, you have been ever since we've first met!"

"Of course!" Hideki said, "We're amazing like that!"

Elie and Raziel were siblings, both had moved here from America a few years back and befriended Shiyu, Hideki, Junoshi and Jikega, where they were welcomed with open arms. Ever since Shiyu had first met him, she'd taken a liking to Raziel. Yet, they'd never dated. Whether it be out of embarrassment of not wishing to tell their true feelings, or fear out of how Jikega would act, it had never happened. But, they'd all managed to stay close friends for this long.

Just as Shiyu was about to open her mouth, they heard a commotion and turned towards the school doors. Three boys had just burst out of the double doors and were running towards the woman. Screaming could be heard before the doors shut, followed by "JIKEGA!"

The girls each sighed respectively and Shiyu also shook her head. Like she said, trouble…

"Ohai-gonzaimasu, ladies," a boy with lazy black hair said, jumping up onto the wall and taking a bite out of his apple.

"What have you done now?" Hideki asked accusingly, her hands on her hips.

The boy blinked, "Me? But why, Hideki-san, would you say something like that?"

Hideki sighed, not at all wanting to argue with Jikega – it was a fruitless battle. No matter what, what he said, goes. He was politely stubborn that way.

Junoshi sighed, leaning against the wall Jikega was sitting on. The two were, and had been best friends, since Shiyu could remember. Jikega and her had dated once, and for a moment were the envy of the school. He had broad shoulders, a charming smile, dark eyes and hair and a way with words. He was constantly in a fight with someone or another, and had yet to walk away with more than a scratch or bruises. However, that could have something to do with the boys he hung out with.

Junoshi was quiet and more laid back, and much less of a show off than Jikega. He was tall, with brown hair and glasses surrounding his dark blue eyes. He was a smart individual [possibly the male version of Hideki, always fussing around grades and his future and was an avid writer. Shiyu smiled at him, and he returned. He had such a sweet smile, and he'd always been there for Shiyu – especially when her and Jikega had their bad times and wouldn't listen to her, that's when the girl turned to her Junoshi-kun.

Then, there was Raziel. This was Elie's older brother – and most of the reason no body in the school would bother with their circle of friends. He was level headed, and the quietest one in the group, but also the most intimidating. He was tall [near 6 ft 2 with broad shoulders and a muscular build. He had dark brown hair and brown eyes, and a smile to cherish once seen. He was very protective of his sister, Hideki and Shiyu, and would always be called along with Junoshi to backup Jikega in a fight.

"He stole that apple," Junoshi finally said.

"JIKEGA!"

"Relax, Hideki-kun," Jikega said airily, "It's not like they're expensive, anyway…They're basically free!"

"But 100 Yen is STILL something!" Hideki said crossly.

Shiyu giggled, "You've opened the can of worms now, Juno-chan."

Junoshi shrugged, "It's what I do,"

The bell rang for class to start and Jikega jumped off the wall as Junoshi pushed himself away. "Here, Shi-kun." Jikega said while tossing an apple to the girl, "You like these, if I remember correctly…" He winked over his shoulder, then walked off to his and Junoshi's first class.

Shiyu struggled to catch the apple and sighed. It was true, she did like apples….but she _despised_ green ones.

"Should I send him a memo?" Raziel asked, one hand in his pocket and the other clutching his school case while he walked with the girls.

She shook her head, "No, you know he'd cause a scene…"

Raziel smiled, "Too true," he said, then held his hand out, "Here. I'm not hungry."

Shiyu blinked and looked at what he held out to her: a Gala apple. She smiled at the red fruit, "Thanks, Raz-san," she replied.

He shrugged, "I've gotta get to class, see ya at lunch," Then walked off.

Elie grinned, "Oooh, he remembered!!" she cooed.

The blonde blushed, going pink as her apple. Gala's were her favorite. Why is it that Jikega – whom she had dated for months – couldn't remember that, while Raziel-sama – who honestly could barely remember what he had for breakfast – did?

"I think," Hideki started, "It's because…hmm, I don't know…maybe…he LIKES YOU and has EVER SINCE HE STEPPED FOOT OFF THAT PLANE!"

The pink went a deeper shade, "Hideki-kun, relax…"

"Oh, I'm relaxed," Hideki said in a calm voice, "I'll freak out when you guys send me the wedding invitations."

Shiyu rolled her eyes and tossed the green apple into a waste bin as they passed, tenderly carrying the gala in her hand. "I'll be sure to put you on the list," the teen replied sarcastically. "But, until then, we're just friends…"

Elie giggled, but Shiyu ignored it as they walked into class and sat down. Shiyu placed the apple in her desk, then turned towards the window while roll was called, thinking along the same lines as last night once again. What was Bakura doing right now, at this very moment? Was he sitting in class, too? What classes had he taken? Was he on the honors roll? Class president? Shiyu smiled, was he fluent in French along with the two required languages or Japanese and English? Alright, maybe we're getting ahead of ourselves…

He said he liked games. What kind? Role Playing? Action? Chance? …Scrabble? Maybe they could play something? Shiyu inwardly giggled at herself, she was taking this way over the top…

She could ask him what kind of games he liked the next time they spoke.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

It was lunch now, and Shiyu was sitting where she usually met her friends – in the middle of a small hill in the schools field, under a tree. There, she took her apple out and admired it before shining it on her chest and taking a bite, the sweet juice running down the corner of her mouth. She wiped it with the back of her hand and stared at the grass. The fruit was sweet and juicy, so very unlike the bitter and tart tastes of the green one.

"'Eh, Shiyu!"

Speaking of the bitter green apple…

Shiyu looked up to see Jikega walking towards her, "How goes it?" he asked as he flopped down next to her.

"Fine," she said, taking another bite of the apple Raziel had given her before taking out her school case and her history homework.

"Man, you seem kinda cold and distant." Jikega said accusingly.

Shiyu sighed, "I'm not, Ji-san," she assured him, "I'm just tired, I didn't get much sleep last night…"

"Why's that?" He asked, lying down on the grass.

Shiyu smiled, blushing slightly – seeing this upset Jikega slightly. "I was talking to a friend of mine…"

"A boy?" the reply came sharp and irritated Shiyu.

"Yes," she replied, "As a matter of fact. He goes to Domino High,"

"You're fraternizing with the enemy?!"

The teen rolled her blue orbs, "Oh, please," she said, "They're a rivaling school, but there's nothing wrong with talking to them…"

"You like him, don't you?" Shiyu felt he was getting a bit too over dramatic with this, but alas, that's how her ex boyfriend was.

"That's clearly an overstatement," she replied logically.

"No, it's not," Jikega said with a sarcastic laugh in his voice, "But I thought you liked Raziel?"

Shiyu blushed. "Why does everyone say that?"

"Because it's true,"

"He's a friend!"

"Who you want to fuck!"

Shiyu jumped up, "TAKE THAT BACK!" she screamed at his vulgar language.

"Take _what_ back?" He bit, "The truth?"

"Don't talk about me like that!" Hot tears started to form in her eyes, "Why do you think I left you?!"

Jikega froze, going completely silent. Shiyu could see the icy pain in his eyes, but at the moment, she couldn't care. Her hot rage seemed more important. Without saying another word, she ran off – rushing past Hideki and Junoshi on the way.

Junoshi seemed worried, "What happened?"

Jikega turned away, "She's a slut," he said out of rage, "Talking about wanting to fuck Raziel and some guy from Domino…"

"That doesn't sound like Shiyu," Hideki said suspiciously.

Jikega shrugged, then stood up and walked off also. Junoshi turned to Hideki, "He's doing it again…"

"He'll regret it," Hideki said, not knowing how right she was.

…………………………………………………..

Me: WELL, there is chapter 2 my pretties.

Yami: That was pure original-characters.

Me: Yea…more of a filler/intro chappie, I guess.

Yami: You won't get many reviews right?

Me: -growl- just because you're pharaoh-

Yami: Doesn't mean you can't kill me –backs away slowly-

Me: good boy –grin-

R&R


	3. Sweet Dreams

Me: Well?

Yami: ….well what?

Me: …Well?

Yami: ….Well, what?!

Me: WELL!?

Yami: WELL WHA- -mouth gets duct taped-

Me: -sweet smile- Read and review!

Yami: ….

Note: in case people haven't been able to tell, 'this is Shiyu typing' _and this is Bakura._ Get it, got it? Good.

Shiyu was absolutely furious and humiliated the rest of the day. She refused to talk to anyone, and when school got out, instead of walking home with the girls, she walks home herself through the back way. She thought this out as a fine idea, until she heard a car from behind her…

"Hey!" a recognizable voice called out.

Shiyu stopped and looked over her shoulder, seeing Raziel in a red convertible – how a teenage boy could afford such a thing normally would range out of Shiyu's mind, but Elie and Raziel lived a comfortable life financially. His father worked a very dangerous, yet well paying job, and his mom worked as a lawyer off in Tokyo. So, Elie and Raziel were both usually home alone.

But, either way, Shiyu blushed deeply when she saw the young man. "Yes?" she said.

Raziel stopped his car right next to her, "Why are you walking this way?" he asked her.

The girl turned her head, "I…need some time to think," he said.

"You're not going to meet that Domino boy, are you??"

For some reason unknown to Shiyu, the question filled her with unexplainable rage. She rounded on Raziel, "And what if I am?" she shot at him.

Raziel blinked, "Well, I'd hope you'd take me, or at least Hideki along, with you. Just to be safe."

The girl said nothing. He thought that Bakura was something other than a teenage boy… "Hmph, I'm fine." She finished before stalking off.

"Well, do you want a ride home?" He called after her.

Shiyu stopped for a moment, deeply considering this. What would people say if they saw the two? "Don't you have work?"

Raziel shrugged, "So? I can make sure you're home alright," he said with a smile.

Shiyu, thankful that her back was to Raziel, blushed. "It's fine," she said, finality in her voice. "I can walk."

The boy, knowing that it was no use arguing further, nodded. "Call me later, okay?"

Shiyu nodded and started walking.

"Oh, by the way," Raziel called after her, "Jikega is just a grade A ass…you know how it is,"

The blonde spun around, but Raziel had already sped off down the main road. She sighed, and continued on her way.

It was later now, nearly time for bed. Shiyu was on her computer, yet not talking to anyone. She was on her messengers, but hidden, so people couldn't talk to her. Her mind was still on what had happened earlier, and her anger flared as she saw Jikega sign in.

It was _his_ fault Shiyu hadn't been able to get a date since the two of them had broken up… Every time someone seemed interested, Jikega had scared them off… Why was it his life mission to make Shiyu as lonely as possible romance wise? The teen continued to stew in her own thoughts of anger and resent towards her exboyfriend, but her spirits lifted and soared right possibly out the window when she saw "New Messages" in her MySpace inbox.

Of course, it was from Bakura. She smiled as she saw him "now online" icon. Clicking on the subject, she read the message.

_Hello, how was your day today?_

She sighed, 'Where to begin…' she typed at first, then dove headfirst into the whole tale of what happened that day.

It took a moment longer for Bakura to reply, since the message was so long, but when he did, it was a lengthy reply also:

_You're exboyfriend said this to you? And you're supposed to still be friends? I'm sorry, but you don't say that to someone who's supposed to be your friend. He was trying to get to you, and he's going to sorely regret it sooner than he thinks. Don't allow him to drag you down to his level, you're far too gorgeous to succumb to filth like him. He's worthless, and if he doesn't know it, he'll soon find out. _

Shiyu blinked, then realized she was both smiling and blushing at what Bakura had wrote. He seemed so protective, caring, and eager to reap revenge on one who had hurt his friend. _Chivalrous, _Shiyu thought to herself. 'That's so sweet,' she typed, 'You seem to care so much about what goes on in my life. Loser, why can't you go to Mizuke instead of Domino?'

Send.

Click.

Read.

_I wish, then I could have met you sooner! I love my friends at school, but I feel kind of…how do you say…'distant' from them. _

Shiyu read on as Bakura wrote on about how his dad was always away in Egypt excavating the tombs of old pharaohs. His mom and younger sister died while he was still young, so he usually sat at home on his computer if he wasn't at school or tagging along with his friends. He explained how they went on insane trips and usually, he was the wallflower. But, he loved to listen and help, and with as much as he's been through in his life, he liked to act as a sort of counselor.

_But lately_ she read on _things have been fine, my friends have been busy with their own things, so I guess we're just kind of growing distant._

Now, this might have sounded very naïve of Shiyu, but her head ached for her new friend. That's why he had added her, she lived close enough, but far away enough. It made sense. She replied: 'Well, I'm here now! I'm your friend! That's all there is to it.' Then…with a stroke of bravery, she asked – 'Do you have a cell phone?'

Send.

Click.

Read the reply.

_Yes, I do. Would you like the number?_

Shiyu smiled as she exchanged numbers with the boy. After that, they continued to talk – movies, games, anime, school… She found out that Bakura was _very_ smart, both in academics, and street wise. Not only was he fluent in Japanese, and English…but _Arabic_. That…was MUCH more exotic than French!

_It's because of my dad_ explained the modest reply, _he's sent me many books and artifacts from Egypt. I can read some hieroglyphs, too, just not that great…_

Shiyu grinned. Wow…Kanji, hieroglyphs, Romanic… was there anything this boy COULDN'T do??

'What about musically, since you seem so talented at everything else?' she asked.

Send.

Click.

Read.

_I wish,_ Bakura sent. _I love all sorts of music, but I can't play any instruments. What about you?_

Shiyu blushed. This is where it seemed as if she was bragging… 'Well…don't think I'm stuck up or anything, but I've been playing the Cello for 13 years, violin for 10, stand-up bass for 7, electric for 6, and I know a little guitar and harp. That's it for strings, I also play clarinet, flute and piccolo.'

Send.

Click.

Read.

_Wow, that's impressive. Show off._

'Ha-ha, am not!'

_Suure._

The rest of the night consisted of the two back and forth message-arguing. Finally, Shiyu noticed that it was once again past one in the morning, and she regretfully had to sign off.

As she climbed into bed, her thoughts were still dwelling on the silliness of the conversations that kept them each up so late. She wondered if Bakura went to sleep at night just as restless as she, his thoughts running over and under the talks they had, hoping that the words would fill her dreams.

Shiyu was startled when a rattling and vibrating was heard over head. She sat up, then looked at her cell phone that was on the shelf above her head. It was glowing pink and admitting a cute beeping noise. She blinked, _Who would be texting me at this hour?_ She thought to herself.

Grabbing her cell phone off the stand, she opened the text:

_Forgot to say… Sweet dreams, can't wait to talk to you in the morning. Goodnight, darling._

Shiyu blushed at Bakura-kun's text – he was so sweet, she couldn't believe it. Saving the text so she could keep the words forever, she rolled over and fell into a peaceful sleep with a smile on her face.

Me: Well?

Yami: …

Me: Just kidding, Yami. There's chapter 3.

Yami: Read and Review!

Me: Good Boy –pats-

Yami: Why can't I rule my own throne…


	4. Protector of Innocence

Me: Let me just make it blatantly clear…

Yami: Heeeere we go…

Me: I HATE FANFICTIONS FORMAT SYSTEM!

Yami: -cleans out ears- ouch…

Me: -sigh- I'm getting better at understanding what codes I can/'t use, so I apologize for anything that gives you a headache from my page. –bow bow-

Yami: -sigh-

Me: Now, whose turn is it for the disclaimer??

All: …

Me: …MALIK!

Malik: Why me!? I was locked underground my whole life! I-

Me: -anime flames-

Malik: …have to say, authoress owns nothing.

Me: Good boy.

Malik: -grumble-

………………………………………………………

It was dark, cold and dank. The smell of putrid, rotting flesh filled the stale air, mixed with the metallic scent of blood and raw fear. There was only one reason one would be admitted into a hell like this…

Jikega groaned, his entire body ached - from his raw wrists that were held up in crude shackles, to the bottoms of his feet, which burned as if he had just finished walking across hot coals. Where was he? Why was he being held prisoner here…? What had he done to deserve this?

"You know very well, filth," Came a chillingly icy voice, "Think of what you've done in your past?"

Jikega tried to think, but his mind was fogged as the awful aromas filled his nostrils. His past..? He was only 17.

"Your more _recent_ past, imbecile!" The voice hissed. "THINK of those you have hurt? Whose tears have you spilt, their salty texture your sweet elixir of life?"

Tears…? Jikega struggled to remember, his half lidded eyes foggy. _Shiyu…_

"Yes, that's it," the voice said sarcastically, "If you DARE hurt her pure, innocent soul…"

It was at this moment in time that Jikega's eyes snapped open, and his piercing scream bound off the walls and back at him, hitting his own ear drums. Soon, the chorusing cruel laugh combined with the blood curdling screams was enough to drive anyone mad.

………………………………………………..

Shiyu woke up, once again, before her alarm clock went off. But this time, she noticed that she had a cold sweat across her forehead. That dream, was it caused by her sour feelings towards Jikega yesterday?

Noticing the time, the teen sighed and figured to get up and ready for school. She threw her legs over her bed, wincing as they touched the chilly floor while she walked to her bathroom.

It only took her an hour to finish showering, brushing her teeth, drying and styling her hair, put on her make up and get dressed. Still, she had lots of time until school had to start, and she didn't feel like she could much stomach breakfast, so she instead turned to her cell phone and school bags.

Opening her inbox and finding Bakura's number, she sent him a text. 'Ohai-gonzaimasu' she sent.

Texting was slower than messaging, but it was still a rather quick reply when Bakura sent back _Good morning to you, too! Why up so early?_

Shiyu bite her lip for a moment, but once again, decided to trust that secure feeling she had with the boy. Carefully, she told him about the dream she'd had. By the end of it all, she was eagerly awaiting his reply to see what he had said.

_I'm sorry you had such a horrifying dream, I hope you day goes better…_

Shiyu smiled, feeling as if Bakura really honestly cared about her wellbeing.

………………

The entire walk to school, Shiyu text her new friend. Noticing that none of her friends were waiting out front, she walked up to her class room and sat in her seat, pulling out her history book and studying for an upcoming test in the next few periods. Time ticked on, and soon, Hideki and Elle walked in through the door, followed by Raziel.

Elie sat next to her friend, the smile from her face falling. "I forgot about the test!" she groaned to herself.

Hideki sweat dropped, "Then pull out your book…"

Raziel sat on the other side of Shiyu, sitting backwards on a chair. "You never called me," he said.

Shiyu looked up and at her friend, feeling regret. "I'm sorry," she apologized, "I was so angry at what Jikega had said, I'd forgot…"

Raziel shrugged, "It's alright," he said, although he didn't look at her face and looked down at the tile on the ground. "I was just worried, is all."

The girl couldn't help but smile slightly at the concern her friend shared for her. For a moment, the bickering between Elie and Hideki over the younger girls studying was mute, and her dream began to creep back into memory. True, caring friends… was that what the punisher was trying to show the selfish Jikega?

Once again, the door opened and slid shut as Junoshi walked in, seeming slightly unsettled. He sat down quietly, and Hideki ignored the other girls' arguments. "What's up, Juno?" she asked her friend.

Junoshi shook his head, and at once Shiyu noticed something – Jikega was no where to be seen. "Juno…"

"I already know what you're going to ask," Junoshi said, seeming distracted, "Jikega is home, he refuses to come out of him room."

"What?" Elie blinked, "Why?"

Junoshi shrugged, "His mom said they were awoken last night by his screams…"

Shock washed over the friends, and the color must have drained from Shiyu's face as she wavered and felt a pair of strong hands on her shoulders. She turned to see Raziel, "Are you alright?"

Shiyu nodded, lost in her own thoughts. That dream, now Jikega was missing… "What else did they say?"

Junoshi didn't turn as he replied, "His deck was all over his room," he said.

"His duel monsters?" Raziel asked. Junoshi nodded.

"Ridiculous," Hideki sighed, "Kega-kun was never good at duel monsters…"

"Still," Junoshi sighed, "That's what I heard."

Shiyu squirmed; it felt like a snake had coiled itself inside of her and was writhing the life out of a poor, defenseless rodent. _He's faking sick_, Shiyu reassured herself, _there's a history test today…Yea, that's it…_

Ignoring all other logic, she tried not to focus on anything but school for the rest of the day.

………………………………

"No talking, no note passing, no fiddling with notes…" The sensei went on and on with the rules for test taking, "When I say times up, pencils down. Don't start until I tell you to. And…begin!"

Shiyu stared at her paper, trying to focus on the dates and events in front of her. _The Heian period lasted for how long?_ But at the moment, Shiyu couldn't care less about the Heian period, or when the first treatise to Western anatomy took place. What had happened to Jikega? Sure, he was a pain in the ass, but he was still a dear friend…

Absent mindedly, Shiyu continued to scrawl down dates ahead of her. _Remembering the past is my future,_ Shiyu told herself, _I can't think about Jikega-san right now, I have to graduate…_

Taking a deep breath, she began to neatly jot down a short history of Feudal Japan. _A period marked by the departure of torment-like battles… a brief period of peace… _Before she knew it, she was scribbling about the Genkō War. When she finished, she flipped the paper over to check how many questions she had left, _Nearly finished…_ She thought, her heart sinking slightly. She glanced at the clock – she wasn't looking much forward to lunch.

…………………..

"GAH!" Elie groaned as she flopped down next to Shiyu, "I completely bombed that test…"

"Should have went to those cram classes," Hideki muttered as she opened her lunch box and positioned her chop sticks.

Elie sulked, "I had things to do…"

Raziel laughed as he lowered himself to sit near the girls, "I don't believe that blowing your weeks paycheck was an excuse to skip your cram classes…"

"But I told Hideki to take notes for me!" She whined.

The entire group sweat dropped, "I think she's missing the point…" Hideki sighed.

Raziel laughed and cast a quick glance over towards Shiyu-kun and Junoshi-chan. Junoshi was lying on his back, his hands behind his head and his eyes cast upward, and Shiyu was lying on her stomach, her legs kicking cutely in the air as she munched an apple. The oldest boy suppressed his smile as he watched her tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear, the apple clutched firmly in her teeth.

Shiyu had always been a sweet girl…well; if you didn't count the moments when she and Jikega had gotten into those horrible, let's call them "disagreements". Raziel frowned slightly as he thought of that dampened period. That relationship put more strain on everyone in the group than the young girl had realized, and when she had dropped nearly 2 dress sizes, that was when Raziel and his sister decided to put it to an end.

……tiny flashback for a moment…….

"She doesn't eat when she's stressed," Elie had sighed as her, Junoshi, Hideki and her brother sat in a booth at the newest Chinese restaurant that had opened up, "And with the up-coming exams and Kega-sans mouth, I wouldn't be surprised if she could remember the last time she HAD eaten,"

"I couldn't blame her," Hideki said through her chow-mien, "I don't think I'd be able to stomach anything with him bitching in my ear drums…"

"He doesn't realize what he does," Junoshi said in his best friends defense, although after the words left his lips the look on his face was plainly questioning if he himself had realized what he just said.

"He needs to realize it," Hideki grumbled, and then slammed her first on the table causing Elie to squeak and jump. "He's 16 years old; he NEEDS to take responsibility for his OWN actions!!"

Elie nodded meekly, as if frightened that anything else would further provoke her already riled friend. Raziel said nothing for nearly the entire time, but tried to focus on the words of concern his friends were expressing. Anything to get the image of Shiyu-kun's tear streaked face out of his mind…

………end momentary flash back ending………..

"RAZIEL!!!!!"

"GAH!"

The dark haired boy had fallen over, surprised by the screeching in his ear. "WHAT!?" he screamed up at his sister.

She blinked a few times, "Come with me to get a juice…"

Raziel sighed, then hoist himself up and followed his baby-sister. He knew she was scared to death of being alone anywhere ever since they had moved – at first it was because Raziel was older and had more knowledge of languages, and when they moved here at first he had picked up Japanese much quicker than his sister, but now it was simply just habit. Not that he minded, Elie was one of his best friends, he loved her more than anyone. Whenever he needed an ear to tug, she had always been there…not that she had much of a choice, living alone with him.

Which, he wasn't too surprised when she brought up his zoning out a second ago, "You were thinking about her, huh?" she asked.

He shrugged, "I don't get why she gets so distressed over that guy," he said.

"I do," he was shocked to hear his sister say.

"El," he said calmly, "I love you, you're my baby sister…which is EXACTLY why I'm not allowing you to go after Jikega."

Elie giggled as she pressed the button on the vending machine for her grape-fruit juice, "Brother, I think YOU would go after Jikega before I would."

"Don't push it."

The girl sighed, "What I meant," she said, "Is that Shi-kun and Jikega were together a long time, and Shiyu is a very emotional person…which isn't always a good thing. She's worried about Kega-san."

Raziel shrugged, uncomfortable. "Yea, but…"

"And," Elie continued, "I'm sure she's confused. I know she's furious at him over yesterday, but also, when Junoshi came to school so worried, that rubbed off on her."

Once again, Raziel shrugged. "He just wouldn't come out of his room," he said, "You know how proud he is – maybe someone humiliated him the way he humiliated her."

"You wouldn't have to do much to accomplish that," Elie sighed. "But what did they do?"

"You heard Juno," Raziel said, "Jikega's cards were thrown around his room…Maybe someone beat him in a card game?" _But who? _He asked himself.

"Jikega sucked at Duel Monsters," Elie mumbled.

Raziel laughed, which was all he could do as they came back up to the group. Once again, they took their respective places, listening to what Junoshi and Hideki were talking – or more arguing – about.

"They broke up!" Hideki nearly screamed.

"That doesn't matter!" Junoshi sighed, "Iceman still-"

"Can you two _please_ stop?" Shiyu sighed. "I have a big enough headache from that test…"

Hideki turned to her friend as Junoshi stopped mid-sentence. "Huh?" Junoshi blinked.

Shiyu smiled, although it seemed a bit strained, "It was challenging," she covered, "I can see why Ji-kun skipped it."

Raziel said nothing as he stared at the ground. _She hasn't called him Ji-kun since they were together…_

Elie saw the emotion flick across her brothers face. In public, he did rather well at hiding his emotion, but she knew his true feelings.

Everyone jumped slightly as a beeping filled the air, and Shiyu grinned widely as she rolled onto her back, holding her cell phone up in the air and reading whatever text she had just received. Hideki blinked, "Who's that?" she asked curiously.

"'Kura," Shiyu replied quickly and her thumbed hammered against the keys heavily.

"Oh…" Was all the brilliant teen could manage to say before the bell rang and she stood up, "I've got to go," she said, "If we're late, Sensei Choka will kill us,"

Elie grumbled, "I hate that red-headed roach…" she gathered up her things and followed her friend, "See ya later,"

"Ja," Junoshi said as he turned to Raziel, "Ready for Judo?"

Raziel shrugged, "Sure," and stood up, looking down at Shiyu as she still lay on the ground, "Need a hand?"

Shiyu turned her blue eyes to her friend, "Wha...?"

Raziel scratched the back of his head, "The bell rang…" he said, a sweat drop sliding down his temple.

"Oh!" Shiyu jumped up, "I have dance next!" she began to run in the direction of her locker, and her mood seemed significantly lighter than it did a few moments ago. "Thanks, Raziel-kun," she said with a wink and a peace sign, "Ja!"

It was all Raziel could do to hold up his hand in a feeble wave as the girl ran off in the direction of her locker, unable to think of anything to say – _should I have said goodbye in English, Japanese or French?_

"C'mon," Junoshi groaned as he sat up, "I don't feel like listening to Sensei Ryosuke bitch about us being late…"

"Yea," Raziel said absentmindedly, following his friend to the gym.

…………………………………….

Me: Well.

Yami: …

Malik: That joke's getting o-

Me: -anime flames-

Malik: …oh so…entertaining?

Me: …

Yami: It was worth a shot?

Malik: Heh…-sheepish grin-

Me: Review, the next chapter will be posted later today [hopefully and will continue in this school day [high chances.

Yami: I'm surprised you carried on with this as long as you did.

Me: ME TOO! For a spur of the moment idea, it's pretty well thought out…

Malik: -nod nod-

Yami: -whispers- you just don't want to get shank'd again…

Malik: -sarcastically- How'd you guess?

NOTES: It was brought to my attention of a small mistake I made in the first chapter…

Raziel: I AM NOT A GIRL!

Me: Of course your not –grin- Renee isn't in this story [yet

Raziel: …

Me: The first chapter says something along the lines of "Raziel was Elie's sister", but by now you know that I accidentally switched the names around, and it should be that ELIE is Raziel's sister.

Also –

Am I the only one who found the Yu-Gi-Oh! Movie ABSOLUTLEY hilarious? I mean, seriously –

-PROOF PEGUSUS IS A CHILD MOLESTOR-

Pegasus: Kaiba boy!

Seto: Don't act like we're friends. We never have been, never will be.

Pegasus: Looks like SOMEONE needs a hug!

Seto: …

-CLIP 2-

Seto: This place is old and decrepit, but so are you so I guess it's fitting.

Pegasus: Now, now…no need to get nasty! ….Yet.

Seto: ……

-CLIP 3: WIKIPEDIA-

Everyone: Oh, no! Anubis will kill us all!

Pegasus: Everyone! –tells them the secret to how to beat him-

Everyone: …how'd you know that?

Pegasus: I looked it up…

Me: Is it just me, or did everyone laugh their asses off at those parts? Also, the "Johnny Rotten" reference made by Joey XD 'kay I'm done.

R&R


	5. Like Old Times

Me: Hey!

Yami/Malik/Bakura: -unenthusiastically- Hey…

Me: Part Two!

Y/M/B: Yay…

Me: Oh-pah!

Them: …What?

Me: Heh…read and review.

Y/B/M: YAY!

Me: …

Jounouchi: Authoress don't own nuttin', nyah!

Me: -sweat drop- very good…

………………………………………………

"AHH!"

"HAI!"

SLAM!

"Ugh…" Junoshi placed a hand to his head, "What's wrong with you, Raziel?"

Raziel looked down at his friend. The other boy was sprawled out on the ground wearing his white robe-like clothes for the martial arts lessons and his glasses askew on his face. "Sorry about that…" he said, holding a hand out to help him up.

"It's fine," Junoshi replied as he gingerly stood up, rubbing his backside. "Who spit in your Cheerios this morning?"

Raziel shrugged, "It's nothing," he said.

"Doesn't feel like nothing," he grumbled. "Let me try,"

Junoshi grabbed Raziel in the same hold that was just placed on him, arranging his footing just right, and yanked upwards. This chain of events was supposed to cause Raziel to flop backwards on his back, but instead made Junoshi pop his own back. "Gah…" slowly, he released his grip on Raziel and snaked down to the ground.

Raziel blinked and looked down at him, "Looks like you need to take some outside lessons just to pass the class…"

……………………….

"Alright, girls," the dance instructor clapped, "You did great! See you next time, you are dismissed."

Shiyu grabbed her towel off one of the shelves as she walked out of the dance studio, pressing it to her face. _That felt good_, Shiyu said to herself, her chest heaving from the workout. Now, all she had to do was go home and play her cello, and talk to Bakura – her day would be complete.

Walking into the changing room, Shiyu folded her towel back up and got changed back into her street clothes. She took her cell out of her shoe (where she kept it during this class for safe keeping) and slipped it in her bag, not bothering to take her hair out of its ponytail for the walk home. While walking out of the girls changing room, she saw Junoshi and Raziel walking out of the boys. She grinned and jogged over to them.

"How was class?" she asked

Junoshi sighed, "Raziel kicked my ass…"

Raziel shrugged, "I was just following the Sensei's instructions…"

Shiyu grinned, her mind and spirit significantly lighter. Dancing was one of the things that cleared her mind. It felt as if it purified her body and soul, making her feel weightless. "So, I'm guessing Raz-kun won?"

Junoshi sighed, "Of course."

"Hey," Raziel pat his friend on the back, "No hard feelings, eh?"

The other boy laughed, "Of course not…" then sighed, "Not if I want to live…"

Raziel smirked, then turned and watched as Shiyu began walking, once again, the opposite way as her friends. "Shi?"

The girl turned, "Hmm?"

"Do you just want a ride?" he offered, his hands in his pockets, "I mean, it can get kinda dangerous around the alleys towards that way…"

The teen put a finger to her lips, as if contemplating, and then grinned, "Sure!" she said, "We haven't talked in awhile."

Raziel nodded, "You can go and wait by my car, if you'd like. It's parked in the usual spot,"

Shiyu nodded, then turned and walked off towards the car. Of course she knew exactly where it would be: off parked in the alley behind the school next to the café. After Raziel and Elie had moved to Domino, it didn't take long for Hideki and Shiyu to befriend them. After that, Raziel would give Shiyu rides to school everyday (Hideki at that time was appearing early for extra classes, and Elie much preferred to walk). Each morning they would go the café and buy coffee, taking doughnuts back to his sister and their friend. "I'm glad we met you first," Hideki would say with a grin through her doughy goodness.

The girl smiled at these memories as she walked up to and leaned against Raziel's 2004 Jaguar XKR. The rides had stopped shortly after she had started dating Jikega, and it was around that time that Raziel also picked up a job for income in addition to what his parents gave him… Shiyu blinked as she ran a hand down the side of the sleek car: what did their parents even do for a living? She knew about his mom, but what about his dad? It had to be something a lot more dangerous than she'd thought originally to make this much money. "Maybe he's a spy!" Hideki had guessed.

"A Spy?" Shiyu cocked an eyebrow at the time, "For the American government?"

The older girl shrugged, "It'd make sense," she said.

_She has a point,_ Shiyu thought as she leaned against the car much too expensive for a teenager, _He's always gone…I don't think I've ever seen even a picture of him._

"Yo!"

Torn out of her thought by the voice of her friend, Shiyu smiled as Raziel walked over. For the first time, she noticed he was still in his Judo outfit. "What's with…?"

Raziel looked down, "Oh," he shrugged casually as he unlocked his door, "I was just going to change when I got to work."

"Oh…" it was a lame reply, but at the moment she couldn't think of anything else. The boy started his car and began to drive down the alley to the main road.

"Are you hungry?" he asked, "We can stop somewhere."

Shiyu felt her stomach grumble as it digested her half an apple at lunch – the only thing she'd had since yesterday's apple. Being so stressed out with the news on Jikega and studying for her test, she'd forgotten to eat. "That sounds great," she said as her stomach gave a particularly loud roar.

Raziel laughed, "Up for pizza?"

Shiyu grinned and nodded, "That sounds sooo good!"

"Alright," he said as he turned in the direction of the pizza parlor.

It wasn't far off from the school, so they were there in minutes. Shiyu climbed out of the car after tucking her school bag under the seat. Raziel pressed the button on his keychain without Shiyu's knowledge, so when the alarm started going off as she shut her door it took her by surprise. "Ah…I'm sorry!" She stuttered.

The older boy just laughed, "You shut your door after I set the alarm!" he explained.

Her shock turned to annoyance, "Why didn't you tell me!?" she spat.

But the boy simply smiled at her, pressing the key again to silence the screaming car. Shiyu blushed, turning her eyes away from his face. _Why does he have to do that around me?_ She asked herself. He was always acting so hard, but when it came to her he seemed soft as silken tofu. _He just sees me as a sister-figure,_ she sighed to herself, _I'm sure he's the same way with Elie when their at home._

"Hey…you coming?"

Shiyu blinked, once again pulled out of her thought. Raziel was all the way up at the door, halfway in already. "AH!" the girl jumped, "Wait for me!"

After she caught up with him, the two walked in and took a seat. It didn't take long for them to order, or get there pizza, since it wasn't very crowded. "Why though?"

Raziel blinked as she took another bite of her slice. "I thought you'd know," he said.

"Me?" the blonde blinked as she chewed, "Buh why?"

"This is Domino area," he explained, not at all phased by her lack of manners. "Domino students are banned from having after school jobs or stopping before they head home,"

Finally, she swallowed. "Then how come we weren't stopped?" she asked.

"You're uniform, you silly girl." He said, "Not all schools have the same uniforms…"

Shiyu sweat dropped, "I knew that."

"The Domino high uniform has a pink blouse with a blue skirt and a God-awful yellow bow tie," as Raziel told her the articles of clothing; Shiyu could picture them in her mind. "The boys just wear something like what we do, only theirs is navy blue, not forest green."

The teen tilted her head to the side, "How do you know this?" she asked.

Raziel grinned, "When we moved here, we were choosing which school to go to based on the uniform Elie hated the least,"

Shiyu laughed. That would be just like Elie to choose their school uniform over the pink-blue-yellow clash of Domino. Their uniform wasn't much, but at least the colors all matched. The skirts were black pleated, and the white button up tops they wore were lined on the cuffs and lapels with a dark green, finished with green neck ties and matching knee-high socks (that were allowed to be either black, green, or white with green stripes).

"I can see why she chose what she did," Shiyu agreed.

"You should have seen the size of these yellow bows, though," Raziel said, holding his hands out, "I mean, they had to at least cover their whole neck and half their chest…"

Shiyu laughed again, this time so hard that she snorted. It was Raziel who burst out laughing this time, "What the hell was that!?" he choked.

"Shut up!" she screamed, blushing, "Shut up, shut UP Raziel!"

"Excuse me!" Both teens went silent, looking up at the angry teller standing next to their table…

………

"How was I supposed to know we'd get kicked out of the shop?" Shiyu said in defense as the two began to drive in the direction of her house.

"You were screaming so loud, the game shop down the street could probably hear you…" Raziel said.

_Wait a minute,_ Shiyu's mind clicked in realization, _Game shop? Domino territory?_ "Raziel," she asked randomly, "What's the game shop in this area called?"

Raziel shrugged, "The sign out front just says '_YuGiOh'_. I think this old man runs it. His grandson is supposedly finalist in all these contests, though."

_Where does he get all this random information? _Shiyu thought to herself. "Oh…" _I haven't been to that one before, could that be by where Baku-san lives?_

The blonde teen didn't even notice as the car slowed to a stop in front of her house. "Well," Raziel said, "Here we are."

Shiyu bent down to pull her school case out from under her seat, "Thanks, Raz-chan," she said with a smile as she climbed out of the car, "This was nice."

"Yea," he said with a smile, "Like old times."

The teen replied with a smile and a wave, then skipped up to her doorstep. She knew very well that Raziel wouldn't drive away until after she had made it inside – she'd always used to watch him drive off out her window.

But today, he lingered for a moment, checking his cell phone and mirrors before actually driving off. Shiyu blinked, "Americans are weird…" she said to no one in particular.

That was when, she realized, she hadn't checked her phone since before her dance class! Hastily, she ran upstairs to her room before checking the screen…_ One missed call. _

Shiyu pressed the button for auto redial, wondering who had called. Her breath caught in her throat when she heard a gruff, yet somehow comforting voice answer, "Hello?"

…………………….

Me: well.

Yami: What a wea-

Malik: -viciously shakes head in the background-

Yami: …wonderful ending?

Me: It was a last minute thing. This whole chapter was kinda bleh-filler, the only thing semi-important was the phone call and the uniforms. Neways, read and review! Sorry about it, it'll get better.


	6. Sweet Late Night Phone Calls

Me: That last ending was cut short, but bleh.

Yami: Comforting?

Me: Shut up, I couldn't think of what to put. VELVETY didn't seem like it'd fit well, either.

Yami: good point.

Me: Well, here's where we left off. Wow, it's taken me 3 chapters for one day : S

Yami: wtf with the weird face?

Me: DON'T MAKE ME CALL YOU TAMI! –cries over formatting issues-

Yami: -sweat drop- Read and review…

Seto: -grumbles- the only person who owns anything in this room, is ME! –gets hit with a bat- Ow…

,,,,,,,,,COMMAS: D ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Shiyu was still in shock as there was a slight pause, then another calling of, "Hello…?" this time, the voice sounding a bit more unsure.

"'Kura-kun?" Shiyu asked.

"Shiyu!" Bakura sounded surprised, "Why…Wow, uhm, I didn't know you'd call back?"

"Sorry I didn't answer!" she apologized, sitting on her bed and pulling her shoes off, "I, uhm, I was with Raziel. He gave me a ride home,"

"Oh, really?" Bakura asked with mild interest.

"Hai," the teen replied, "We were actually on the same street as the game shop _YuGiOh_, I think that's what it's called."

"That's my friend Yugi's place," Bakura informed.

"You mean he LIVES there?!"

Bakura laughed at the girls astonished voice – which, Shiyu had to admit, gave her butterflies. "Yes," he said when he finally lowered it down to a mere chuckle, "Him and his grandfather both have lived there since I've known them,"

"Wow," she smiled, "That's cool."

"Yea," the other agreed, "We usually hang out at his place. Anyway, how was your day?"

"Hmm…" Shiyu thought for a moment, then for the first time in the past few hours, actually _remembered_ about this morning… "Jikega…" she said softly.

"What?" Bakura asked, "Jikega?"

"My exboyfriend," she sighed.

"What did he do??"

Shiyu couldn't help but flicker a smile at the concern in her new friends voice, "It wasn't…well…" Taking a deep breath, Shiyu explained everything – beginning at yesterday at lunch.

Bakura listened very intently the entire time, only interjecting for comments like "oh my" and "seriously?" until finally, after almost an hour of talking, Shiyu had finished.

"And he didn't show up to school today?" Bakura repeated.

"Nu-uh," Shiyu sighed, "None of us have any idea where he is…"

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Bakura said comfortingly to the young girl, "maybe it's a good thing he didn't go today, he might need to be catching up on his rest."

"You're right," Shiyu said with a smile, "Aww, Kura-Kun, you're so sweet."

The boy laughed, "I'm only human," he said.

"I doubt it,"

For longer the two continued their sickeningly-sweet mock-argument. The longer it went on, the more Shiyu laughed and the lighter she felt. Bakura made her laugh, he made her smile. It was so easy for her to talk to him, and he actually listened to what she had to say. In turn, Shiyu simply adorned talking to him. And when he talked, she was all ears. His voice was so interesting – he sounded so well educated, and there was a certain texture in his voice, the way he talked and the analogies he used. She was spell bound by his words.

"Wow," he muttered.

"Huh?" Shiyu blinked, wondering what the stall was.

"Look at how long we've talked for."

The teen looked at the blinking phone: her battery was blinking red, meaning the charge was low, and the numbers were racking up to nearly 5 hours. "Ah!" Shiyu laughed, "I hadn't even realized!"

"Nor had I," Bakura replied. "I supposed we should end our conversation for now…" but just as she had thought that was it, he suddenly asked, "What are you doing tomorrow after school?"

Shiyu's heart skipped a beat at this question. "Nothing as far as I know," she said, surprised at how smooth her own voice had come out.

"Would you like to…" Bakura cleared his throat, "Want to meet up? I mean, that is, if you're free."

"I'd love to." The teenager said with a smile.

"Great!" Bakura said with Shiyu could only imagine a grin on the other end of the line, "I'll, uhm, text you after school?"

"Sure!" Shiyu beamed, "I can't wait!"

"Great," Bakura laughed, "Bye!"

"Bye, bye!" Shiyu chirped before hanging up. Then, she jumped up, "YES!"

………..

Shiyu paced for the next three hours. _What will I do with my hair? What will I wear? What perfume should I put on?_ These questions raced in and out of her mind, buzzing all at once and drowning out all silence that might save her sanity.

Resting her sore feet, she collapsed backwards onto her bed and stared up at her ceiling. A faint smile flittered across her face as thoughts of tomorrow and what it might bring filled her minds eye…

It was dark, foggy…no, that wasn't fog – it was mist. A darkly colored, purple vapor was hovering thickly inches from the floor, and a haze swimming around the two boys heads. But, wait…how had such a thick substance appear in his room?

"We're no longer in your room," from the mystery came a cold drawl, "For our game – your punishment – we have been taken to the shadow realm."

"Punishment?" came the over-confident voice that could not be mistaken as anyone else than Jikega, "And what's worthy of punishment?"

"_Baka_," sounded from the mists, "Your sins, the evil deeds that mark your soul – you dare try to take down someone pure at heart?"

"What are you talking about?" Jikega laughed, "'Pure at heart'? What the hell are you?"

A cloaked figure on the opposite end of the room smirked, "You're worst nightmare…"

…………

Shiyu's eyes snapped open and whirred around her room. That voice, who was it? It sounded slightly familiar…and Jikega…

The blinking numbers on her clock read 3:00 AM. Noticing she was still in her school uniform, Shiyu undressed and collapsed back onto her bed, falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.

………………………………………..

Me: GAH!

Yami: Yes?

Me: That was short. It was shitty. And I have writers block.

Yami: Couldn't tell

Me: Really?

Yami: …I'm just being nice.

Me: ….

Yami: Heh heh –sheepish grin-

Me: …Review.

Next chapter will be up soon – it'll be GOOD, I promise. I TRY to post once a day, in case you haven't noticed.

-bow bow-


	7. Hear The Sound, Angels Come Screaming

Me: Okay, I have to apologize with the 6th chapter.

Yami: -analyzing a bag of popcorn-

Me: It was horribly rushed.

Yami: -pokes it and looks at the microwave-

Me: And I ran out of ideas after the phone call

Yami: -mumbles to self- How do they do that…

Me: Also, the "Unknown Person/Jikega" thing was a flashback dream. More on those later.

Yami: -puts finger inside bag of hot popcorn-

Me: Yea, it was a last minute deal…really just trying to drag it out to post.

Yami: GAH! –pulls finger out quickly, as if burned- Grr…INFERNAL DEVICE OF YELLOW PIECES! –sends to shadow realm-

Me: ….Read and review.

Yami: -stomach growls- Aw…

Me: -slaps forehead-

………………………………..

They thought the first day was a fluke, but now it became apparent: something had happened to Jikega. He once again hadn't shown up to homeroom, or any other of his classes. It was now lunch – and Elie had a plan.

"You want to WHAT?" Raziel asked.

"Go see what's up with Jikega!" Elie repeated.

"We went through this, sister…"

"No, ew," Elie shuddered, "I mean, think about it? What was it that humiliated him so bad?"

"And can we reenact?" Hideki chirped.

Junoshi had sat in silence up until this point, "I just want to see what happened," he said, "I mean…honestly. When was the last time he holed up like this?"

The crowd around him shrugged, "Either way," Elie said, "Junoshi and I are going…you guys coming?"

Hideki shrugged, "I don't feel like going to advanced calculus today…" she grabbed Raziel's elbow, "You have to come then."

Raziel shrugged, "Whatever…"

Just then, Shiyu came walking up. Elie opened her mouth, about to say something but stopped short when she noticed the blonde teen on her cell phone.

"Alright, text me now…" She giggled, "Ja!" Then hung up, sitting with her friends in the circle. "What have I missed?" she asked.

"We're going to see what happened to Kega-kun," Elie informed, not even bothering to ask who was on the phone because she had a feeling she'd already knew, "Right now. Do you want to come?"

Shiyu blinked, "And skip music?"

Hideki bowed her head, _There's no way we're getting her to come,_ she thought, _not if she has her cello classes today._ "It's fine," she said, "What about you swing by after school?"

"Can't," the other girl shrugged, "I'm busy right after school."

"Oh?" Hideki blinked, "Helping out your mom?"

Shiyu nodded, "Yea," she replied. _Something like that…_

"It's fine," Junoshi said, "We can give you an update when we figure what's going on."

The teen smiled in Junoshi's direction, "Arigato, Juno-kun!" she said sweetly, then her phone beeped. Immediately she pulled it out. After reading and replying to the message sent, she had noticed the time. "Ah, I'm sorry but I have to go," she stood up, "I wanted to polish my cello before class."

"Alright," Elie held her hand up, "Bye, Shi-kun,"

"Ja!" the teen waved as she skipped off to class.

"Am I the only one who's suspicious?" Raziel muttered under his breath.

"Don't count on it," Hideki replied just as softly.

"So," Elie looked at her cell phone for the time, "Shall we go now?"

Junoshi and Hideki both looked at their watches, but Raziel simply shrugged. "Yea," Hideki said as she grabbed her bag and stood up, "Let's go. Raz, you driving?"

Raziel pulled out his keys and twirled them on his finger before catching them again, "Don't I always?"

Hideki rolled her eyes from behind his back, "Silly Americans," she muttered to herself, then followed.

…………………………

_So, where would you like to meet? _Shiyu read the text as she walked away from her friends, then replied back 'Any where you'd like. I just left for my lessons early, so I can get out a bit early'. True, the lying to her friends about polishing her cello made Shiyu feel uneasy…but, it wasn't like she wanted to see Jikega anyways._ He'll just say something to hurt me…_ she thought to herself.

Her cell beeped again, and she looked at it. _How about we meet at the game shop? There's a park right by there, we can head there afterwards._

Shiyu smiled as she replied, 'Sounds like a plan' before placing her phone in her bag as she arrived at the music room. Taking a step inside, she saw that she was the only person in the class – her Sensei no where in sight. She looked at the clock, _If he isn't here in 30 minutes, I'm assuming he's not coming…_She thought to herself, knowing that her sensei was always punctual.

Setting her bag down and walked over to her cello as it sat in its case. She smiled slightly before picking it up, then carried it over to her stand and unzipped the thin fabric protecting it. "I need to get a hard case…" she mumbled to herself as she ran her hand over the smooth body of the instrument. Just with that, she felt her troubles wash away.

Positioning herself and grasping her bow, she pulled the horse hair across the string – listening to the deep, comforting feeling that came with the vibrating G string (AN: Please, contain your laughter. I know, it's hilarious.) She sighed, closing her eyes as she listened to the note ring against her ears long after she'd taken the bow off of her instrument. She opened her eyes, grinned, then began playing.

………………….

"Uhm, Raziel?"

"Yes?"

"You passed the street…"

Raziel sighed as he turned back around. Elie smiled, "It sure is nice you're here, Juno-san," she said, "I don't think any of us really know the way to Jikega's house…"

Junoshi shrugged, "It's nothing."

Hideki looked at her watch, "I can't believe I'm skipping a math lesson…"

"I'd be more surprised if you were skipping a language lesson," Junoshi sounded.

The oldest girl gasped, "I wouldn't DREAM of it!" she said, "Not even for one of you guys!"

Everyone sweat dropped, "I'll take that as 'you love me'," Raziel said as he kept driving.

"Wait!" Elie shrieked causing everyone to jump in alarm, "Hurry, hurry! Turn here brother!"

Raziel spun the wheel around, causing his tires to screech as he straightened them again, driving down the straight road, "What's this way??"

Elie was silent. "El?" Hideki prodded her friend, "Elllliieeee…?"

"I thought it was a short cut," she mumbled weakly.

Now, it was time to cue an anime fall from everyone else in the car.

"Let's just have Junoshi tell me where to go," Raziel said coolly, "No more backseat driving from you."

Elie grinned sheepishly, "Sorry…"

"Don't be," Raziel replied, "I'm glad you don't know the way to his house."

Everyone sweat dropped.

…………….

Shiyu sighed as she finished her song, looking up at the clock. It had been 15 minutes, and her Sensei still hadn't shown up. Shrugging, Shiyu packed up her things and put them away. She would have time to stop off at home and change before she met up with Baku-san.

She smiled as she walked away from the grounds. Finally, she'd be meeting her new friend – someone whom she'd shared so much in common with, who really understood her…

_What about Elie-chan?_ A voice asked inside her head.

Yes, Elie san was one of her best friends. They had much in common…But, Bakura was someone older, who had wisdom and such it seemed not many others had…

_Hideki-san is very smart, the oldest of her friend, _said the voice in her head.

Yes, Shiyu agreed, but sometimes, Hideki-san is a bit to serious at times, Bakura was a bit more silly.

_If one word would describe Junoshi_, the voice cooed, _that would possibly be it._

Junoshi was also very shy, Shiyu was now arguing with herself. Baku-kun seems very strong willed, caring, persistent…

_Raziel._

Shiyu stopped. There was nothing she could say against that. What was this voice, what was it trying to tell her?

_You're not trying to replace your friends…are you? _She asked herself.

No…why would she need do such a thing?

With a sigh, Shiyu looked up to realize that she was at home. Walking in, she noticed that the wall clock read 1:14. She still had time to shower, change, and walk to the game shop – by that time, Bakura should be out of school. With a smile at the thought, Shiyu ran upstairs to her room, dropped her bag at the foot of her bed and ran to her shower.

She was in an out in moments, since she'd showered just earlier that morning. _I want to make sure I smell nice,_ Shiyu thought to herself as she stepped out and pulled a towel around her. Waiting for her hair to soak up the leave in conditioner she'd put on, the teen walked towards her closet and began to look for an outfit to wear. _Something nice… Maybe flirty? _She though to herself before pulling out a denim skirt and a red tank top with white and red striped straps, buttons and heart shaped pockets. She smiled, it was one of her favorite outfits – surely, Baku-kun will love it, too.

………………………….

"FINALY!" Hideki sighed as they pulled up to Jikega's house. "Geez, it only took us...what? Over a half an hour to find?"

"I said I was sorry," Elie mumbled from the backseat.

Hideki smiled at her friend, "I'm not blaming you, Elie-chan. Come on, lets get the over with."

The crew piled out of the car and walked up to the steps, Junoshi in front. He rang the doorbell, then waited.

It didn't take long for someone to answer the door: Jikega's mom. He was a tall, thin woman who seemed very stressed and strained, her black hair falling around her pale face in wisps. "Oh, Junoshi… Hideki, Elie, Raziel…" she bowed, "Welcome, what are you doing here?"

Junoshi bowed back, "Konichiwa, Mrs. Kiatsu." He replied, "We're here to talk to Jikega, if you don't mind."

The woman gave a weary smile, "Of course," she said, "If you can find a way to find out what happened to him, I'd be most grateful."

Hideki winked and threw up the favored peace-sign, "You can count on us, ma'am!"

Mrs. Kiatsu smiled and stepped to the side, allowing the group in. Hideki wrinkled her nose, wondering why Jikega complained so much. He came from a well-looking home with kind parents, and as far as she could tell, they gave him whatever he asked for. _Spoiled brat, _she thought to herself.

Junoshi continued to lead the way up the stairs and to a room which they guessed would be Jikega's. Elie shivered, "It feels cold…" she whispered, edging nearer to her brother.

Raziel nodded in agreement. There was something odd going on…

Hideki held her hand out and, instead of knocking, put it right on the handle. She grimaced, and it seemed she had a hard time turning it. Finally, they heard a click and the door was pushed open.

Inside was dark and clammy. Hideki shivered, Elie let out a faint whimper and Junoshi shoved his hands into his pockets. Raziel did nothing. But the feeling wasn't the only thing odd about the room. Things were tossed carelessly around the room, making there look as if there had been a sort of struggle. Duel Monster cards were scattered everywhere, and Jikega was curled up in the corner, his back facing his friends.

"Jikega!" Junoshi called to his friend, but got no response.

"Kega," Hideki stepped towards him, hopping over a broken lamp in the process, "What-"

"GO AWAY!" The teen screamed, throwing his alarm clock that the others had no idea he had at Hideki.

"AH!" Hideki stepped back and stumbled, falling into Raziel's outstretched arms before she hit the floor. She growled, "Jikega, what the hell do you think you're-?"

"You're NOT taking me back to that place!" Jikega cowered.

Hideki blinked and stood on her own two feet, "What is he talking about..?"

Jikega slowly turned towards them, the look on his face sending mild shock through everyone. His face was paper white and clammy, his eyes delusional and out of focus. Everything about him seemed eerie and shaken up.

"Ji," Junoshi took a few cautious steps forward, "Ji, it's us, your friends?"

For a moment, Junoshi thought that his attempt was fruitless, but when Jikega's eyes focused slightly he let out a breath of relief. "Juno…?"

Junoshi grinned, "Yea, buddy, it's me!"

Jikega stared for a moment before shifting his weight up into an upright sitting position. Everyone crowded around him. "What happened?" Elie asked.

Jikega stared at the girl before answering her question, "It was a nightmare," he whispered.

Hideki took a step back, bumping into Raziel and jumping in surprise. "What happened…?"

………

Jikega had just gotten home and thrown his bag down on his bed, "Who does Shi thing she's kidding, anyways?" he said to himself, "It's so obvious," he folded his arms, "The way she stares at him…Hmph."

"You know," came a cool voice from the shadows, "Jealousy is an ugly beast…"

Jikega spun around, "What!?"

"Oh perhaps, it's envy that I detect."

"Grr…SHOW yourself!" Jikega commanded, "Don't just hide in the shadows of my room like a coward!"

The voice chuckled, "My, my, foolish child…" it mocked, "So imprudently brave…"

"You're in _my_ house," Jikega reminded him, "I'm not breaking any laws."

"As if the authorities would be able to detect me?"

Jikega clenched his fist, "Because you hide from your enemies."

"Oh," the voice said coolly, "so you've decided we're enemies now? I was simply coming to ask a kind favor…"

"What favor?" The teen asked suspiciously.

"Stay away from that girls unmarred soul."

Jikega was quiet for a moment, then laughed. "Who, Shiyu?" he laughed again, "Well, if you mean by 'unmarred soul' she hasn't slept with anyone, you'd better hurry it up because if Raziel gets her alone-"

"_Silence._"

Jikega raised an eyebrow, "Wow," he remarked with his fists on his hips, "What's your deal?"

"You stand in the way of what I have, and what I wish to acquire."

Jikega folded his arms, "Hn? Well, then. Change that fact,"

"Of course…" came the icy reply, "Defeat me in a duel."

A laugh recoiled off the walls, making the room seem oddly hollow. "Excuse me? Beat you in a children's card game?"

"Oh, this won't be an ordinary card game…"

……….

"And you accepted?" Hideki asked.

"Obviously," Jikega – who was beginning to come back to his normal self – stated.

Elie noticed that the state of the room was slowly dwindling back to normal. _I guess it had to do with the state Jikega's mind was in…_ she thought to herself.

Hideki glowered, "I can see how you angered it so much…"

Jikega shivered, "It was freaking weird…" he said, "He challenged me to this card game in my room…but it was like Battle City, the monsters came to life!"

"Wait," Hideki said, "Did he have a duel disk?"

Jikega shook his head, "No. And even if he did, I didn't. But that didn't stop me from being attacked for my life points."

…………….

Jikega was on the floor, his breath heavy. How could he have just been attacked by an actual Spear Dragon…?

"Welcome," the cloaked figure said with a smirk, "To the Shadow Realm…"

"You think that's gonna scare me?" the teen said stubbornly while standing to his feet, "Ha. You obviously have no clue who you're messing with…"

"Nor do you," Replied the new foe. "Now, hurry and make your move."

Jikega glares, drawing from his deck, "I play this card in defense mode."

"Too bad you have no idea what you're doing…"

……………….

"No matter what I did," Jikega shook his head, "I just couldn't win…"

"I'm sorry," Elie sympathized with the boy, "How'd it end?"

Jikega shrugged, "I don't remember a thing. Just… he was after something."

"What kind of something?" Junoshi asked, "Did he take any of your cards?"

"Bastard better not have!" Jikega screeched, his anger flaring up suddenly.

Everyone sweat dropped, "The old Jikega is back," Hideki sighed.

"Not like he was any good with them," Raziel mumbled so that only Hideki could hear. She giggled.

"Anyway," Junoshi smiled, "We're glad that you're alright."

Jikega winked, "Of course I am, what do you take me for?"

"Baka…" Hideki mumbled under her breath. Raziel and Elie sweat dropped.

………………………………………..

Me: There.

Yami: …

Me: That was long.

Yami: ….

Me: And pointless at times.

Yami: …

Me: I tried to explain best I could.

Yami: …

Me: Might not have done a good job,

Yami: …

Me: BUT, either way, it's done.

Yami: …

Me: …?

Yami: …I'm still hungry TT

Me: -sigh- Review please.


	8. The Meeting Of The Two

eMe: -yawns- Hello.

Yami: -eating-

Me: Time for chapter 8.

Yami: -happy-

Me: I like to thank my constant reviewers – Ex-SOLDIER804 and journey maker, because they have read/reviewed every chapter. –nod nod-

Yami: -small belch-

Me: I KNOW there are more people out there! –knocks computer screen-

Yami: Excuse me…

Me: Review, mmks?

Yami: PLEASE, it's how she feeds me…

Me: -smile- Review, because wouldn't you…like to help a child…like Atemu?

Yami: Well, I believe I'm FAR from a child…

Me: …Just review, or the bishie gets it.

Yami: o.o Do what she says…

Malik: -Is forced to hold up sign- No ownage is going on here.

…………………….

It was sunny and warm as Shiyu walked from her house into the Domino region. She looked around, and smiled. _This was where Battle City was…_ she thought to herself. Perhaps the only reason she remembered was because Raziel and Jikega had both wanted to join the tournament. "It's ridiculous you have to get a Duel Disk from that egotistical CEO," Jikega has glowered.

Hideki blinked, "WHO'S egotistical…?"

Jikega rolled his eyes, "You're only sore because you're precious _Kaiba-kun_-"

"Stop RIGHT there if you want to live!"

Shiyu smiled at the memory. Seto Kaiba was one of Hideki's idols. In her mind, he was perfection: outstanding duelist, smart enough to manage his own company, rich, and…

"He's MY AGE!" Hideki sighed happily, "HOW can there be any more perfect matches made in heaven?"

No one dared argue with her.

Finally, Shiyu came upon the game shop. She smiled at the appearance. It looked a little like a toadstool in a fantasy game, in her opinion. The letters were bubbly, and the sign that Raziel was referring to did indeed say _YuGiOh_, but the girl smiled to see that there was also a small turtle on the wooden sign.

Checking the time, she noticed that Bakura's school didn't even get out for another 5, which meant he wouldn't even be here for at least another 15. Glancing up at the small shop, she thought to herself, _I might as well go inside for a moment…_

She pushed the door open, listening to the delightful ringing of the small bell overhead. "Konichiwa," came a voice from someone in the shop, "Is there any way I can help you today?"

Shiyu looked towards the counter to see a squat old man with spiked gray hair. She smiled at him, "Are you the owner of this shop?" she asked.

The old man grinned, "That I am, miss! Solomon Motou, I've been running this shop ever since I can remember!"

Blinking, the girl put a hand up to her lips, "Motou…" she said to no one in particular, "Where have I heard that name before…?"

"Did you know anything about the Duel City or Duelist Kingdom tournaments?" The old man asked, hearing her question.

Shiyu nodded, "Yes, two of my friends were going to go to Battle City,"

Mr. Motou nodded, "That's probably where, then." He said, "My grandson, Yugi, won both of those tournaments."

"Yugi Motou?" Shiyu blinked, _Raziel was right._

The old man nodded, "But…you don't go to school with him, do you?"

The girl shook her head, walking closer to the man, "I go to Mizuke Academy."

"Well, you must like games a lot to come to my quiet little shop!" The old man said with a huge grin, "Is there anything you'd like to look for in particular?"

Shiyu shook her head, "No…Just looking," she said with a smile.

Just then, there was a twinkling noise of the door opening again, followed by laughter. Shiyu turned and saw a group of teenagers around her age walking in, a short boy with multi-colored hair and a very quaint large necklace around his neck. With him were two tall boys, one blonde and one brunette, and a girl with brown shoulder length hair. At once, she knew they were from Domino from their outfits – Raziel was right, that bow was unsightly.

The boy she recognized as the Duel City champion smiled and waved, "Hello!" he said cheerfully, "Anyway we can help you?"

Shiyu blushed and shook her head, "Just looking," she said shyly, before turning to took at more of the games on display.

But, as she turned her back, she felt the presence of two people swarm to either of her sides. She looked up – being only a few inches taller than Yugi, she'd never known he was so short, he looked taller on television – to see that the brunette and blonde had both stepped on either side of her, each one in what she supposed they thought was a 'cool stance'.

Shiyu blinked a few times and looked at each of them, "Uhm…"

"So," The blonde, who had a slight Brooklyn New York accent, "How'd ya like to play with a qualified duelist?"

"Yugi?" The brunette, whom was leaning against the wall, interjected. "C'mon, Joey, I don't think your pick up lines need a bit more work if they get your friends more dates then you?"

The blonde – whom Shiyu guessed was Joey – curled his hand in a fist and growled. "Shaddup, Tristan – or I'ma give you and your blocked up hair style a reality check!"

Tristan put his hands behind his head, "My, my Joey, someone needs to control their temper! No need to cry over anything,"

"I'll give YOU something to cry about!" (AN: The whole reason I put that little fight…was so that I could have Joey say that, heh heh…)

Shiyu sweat-dropped and slowly side stepped away from the boys, heading towards the door where Yugi and the other girl were standing. The brunette sighed, "Sorry about that," she said to the new girl, "They're usually nice…" sounds of the boys bickering continued, and a sweat drop appeared on the side of her head, "When they're not acting like complete idiots…"

"It's fine," Shiyu said with a smile at the girl and Yugi, "I know someone who's worse than both of them put together."

The brunette smiled, "Do you go to our school?" she asked.

The blonde shook her head, "No, I go to Mizuke Academy." She held her hand out, "I'm Tsukona Shiyu," she introduced herself.

"Mazaki Anzu," Anzu introduced herself, "You go to Mizuke?"

Shiyu nodded. "What are you doing here?" Yugi asked politely.

"I'm meeting someone," Shiyu said with a pink tinge in her cheeks, "He goes to Domino, and asked me to meet him here…" she looked at her time, gasping, "Oh, no! I'm sorry; I have to go – Ja, Yugi, Anzu!" Then rushed out the door.

Before the two could ask her anything else, she ran off. At this time, Joey and Tristan had stopped fighting. Until… "Look at what you did!" Joey blamed Tristan, "Ya scared her off!"

"Me!?" Tristan repeated, "If it was anything, it was your smell!"

"Yea? Well, I wasn't the monkey now was I?"

Anzu, Yugi and Yugi's Grandfather all sighed as the boys continued fighting. "I wonder who she was meeting?" Anzu voiced.

"Maybe it's someone we know!" Yugi replied cheerfully, "Maybe she'll start coming down more often. We should ask her to hang out with us sometime!"

"YEA!" Joey said loudly as he heard his spiky headed friend suggestion, "We'll have to give Trist' a flea bath first…"

"That's for mutts, not monkeys, flea brain!"

The bickering continued.

………

Shiyu breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped into the warmth of the sunlight outside. She opened her eyes and looked up at the clear sky, once again swelling with happiness and excitement. Soon, she'd meet the boy whom she'd been spending so much of her time talking to and thinking about.

A smile came to her lips as she twirled around, dancing in her pleasure. But, when she slipped and fell backwards into someone, embarrassment washed over her. "Ah!" she spun around and bowed her head, "Gomen, I'm so sorry!"

She heard a familiar tone laugh softly, "It's alright," a boy whom she had just ran into said, "Shi-chan?"

Shiyu blushed and slowly looked up – her eyes meeting a pair of melted-chocolate brown. Straightening up, she smiled – Bakura was taller than her, she was guessing about 5'8" compared to her 5'2", and his silver hair fell just past his shoulders in layered chunks. He seemed, by his face, chiseled and strong, with an aura of mystery around him.

"H-Hai," she stuttered, sure that her cheeks were a similar hue to her shirt. "Baku-san?"

He smiled, "Hai," he said, "Well, how would you like to go to the park now?"

Shiyu grinned, "I'd love it!" she said, "Uhm…would you want to get changed first?"

Bakura looked down at his school uniform, then laughed, "I completely forgot about it," he said, "Sure. My house is on the way…you don't mind?"

"Not at all," She said with a smile, then skipped off following the boy.

"I thought we'd never get out of there," Hideki sighed as they walked towards Raziel's car, "I think I liked Jikega more when he was attacked…"

"This is serious," Elie said in a nervous twitter, "I mean, someone appeared in Jikega's room… A duelist, even. Do you think they were a duel city finalist?"

"What would make you think that?" Hideki said with a roll of her eyes, "Think about it, how do we know Jikega's not just making it all up?"

"Honestly," Junoshi said, "I would think that, too… But was I the only one getting that strange feeling when we walked into his room?"

The group fell quiet as Raziel pulled out of the drive way and began to drive off. "No…" Hideki admitted.

"Thing's will be fine," Raziel said.

"How can you be so sure?" Elie asked.

Her brother turned to her, and by the look he gave her, didn't object again. Thing's would be fine…They'd have to be.

The rest of the ride to Raziel and Elie's home was mostly quiet, each thinking their own thoughts about the odd aura that had been given off in Jikega's room. It was like the shadows of their thoughts, the darkest things they could think of, were feeding into their fear.

_If there's really a threat out there,_ Raziel thought to himself, _we can handle it._

………

Shiyu stood on the doorstep as Bakura fiddled with the lock to his home. "Are your parent's around?" she asked.

"Erm…not quite," Bakura said uncomfortably. "My dad's away at work at the moment."

"Oh," seeing as he had said nothing about his mom, Shiyu didn't push. "Should I wait out here? He won't get angry you have friends in the house, will he?"

Bakura chuckled, "No, it's fine. But, if you don't mind, would you stay downstairs while I head to my room?"

Shiyu shook her head, "Not at all." It was a perfectly acceptable request.

The white haired boy smiled as he pushed the door open, "Arigato," He said as he kicked his shoes off at the door, "I'll only be a moment." Then he headed up a stair case to his room.

The girl took this time to look around the house. It was nice, very clean and neat. Pictures adorned the walls, and Shiyu stepped closer to look at a few. They were of a family: A man with long, dark blue hair pulled back into a ponytail, and a very sweet looking woman with long, flowing white hair. She was holding a baby in her arms, and there was a child clinging to her leg and holding the mans hand – a small child, with large, innocent brown eyes and hair like the woman's.

_Bakura's family…_ she thought to herself. Looking around, she saw more pictures like this, but all was while the boy was young. She saw one of the mother and sister, while the sister was a toddler. The woman was wearing a white dress, her long silvery hair hanging to her waist, with very kind, bright green eyes. The girl on her lap was smiling widely, clapping her adorably pudgy little hands. Shiyu smiled slightly, holding a hand out and touching the glass…

Hearing footsteps, she quickly withdrew her hand and looked at a different artifact – a very old looking statue of a cat. She tried to act as surprised as possible when Bakura said, "Oh, interested?"

"Yes," she said, taking another look around the house and avoiding the pictures, "Your house has a lot of interesting things." It sounded lame as she said it, and blushed.

"Yea," Bakura said. As he walked down, she noticed he had changed into a pair of tight black jeans and a black short sleeved button up shirt, open over a white tee shirt, causing her to smile. "My father brings them home." He continued.

"Your father?" Shiyu asked.

Bakura nodded, walking over with his hands on his pockets. "Yes, he travels around and visits different countries to examine thing people find, a bit like an archeologist. Whatever he gets to keep, he sends home." (AN: I don't know, I really honestly just made it up. Sorry for inaccuracy.)

"Wow…" Shiyu smiled, "That must be exciting!"

"Indeed, but very lonely sometimes…" the boy trailed off.

"It's been easier, though," he picked back up after a few moments silence, "Since we've started talking I mean…"

The girl tried to ignore the pink painted across her cheeks, but saw that, like a sunrise, it had stained the boys skin, too. "I understand," Shiyu replied, trying to ease the teens embarrassment, "I mean, my life felt like a blur until you came into it…"

It was Bakura who smiled this time, "That's sweet," he said, turning the pink up a few hues on her cheeks. He chuckled at this, "Why don't we go to the park now? We can get ice cream, my treat."

The girl grinned, "Sounds wonderful!" Then, headed for the door, Bakura following her.

…………….

Me: wow.

Yami: What?

Me: it took me like…3 days to write that. Usually it takes one. Sorry about the slow update, I've been busy with school getting back in session.

Yami: And dealing with stalkers?

Me: -shudders- Adult Roles…weird kid who sits next to me…-shudders-

Yami: Review, please. For my sake.

\/ click the purple button.


	9. Launching Fabrication

Me: Yo'

Yami: -grumble-

Me: Buck up, chum! –slaps back-

Yami: X.x'

Me: Heh, here's chapter 9. R + R!

Disclaimer: Don't own.

……………………………

The friends piled out of the car as Raziel parked in his drive way. Elie walked to the house and pulled out her keys, opening the door and letting Junoshi and Hideki in, pausing for her brother to get up the stairs. "Raz,"

"Thing's will be fine," Raziel cut her off before turning to look at her, "Trust me."

A moment of silence, then the girl nodded, her eyes shining as she smiled. Raziel looked away, not being able to look into those orbs of blue any longer when they looked so much like their mothers.

He wouldn't admit it, but he missed his parents more than he lead on – a lot more. Sure, he would put up the front of being like all the other guys out there…well, maybe not as obnoxious as Jikega, but still. He had Elie and himself to take care of, he couldn't let his guard down or show any signs of weakness, because if he'd crumble then Elie's pillar would fall.

Pushing his mind from all those thoughts, he wandered to the kitchen and opened his fridge, pulling out a soda. "What, don't even offer your best friend?"

Raziel didn't even pull his head out of the fridge, tossing a Pepsi over his shoulder to Hideki. "Thanks!" she said, "So…do you really believe anything he says?"

The boy shrugged, "I'm not sure," he said.

"Well, you must have some opinion."

Closing the fridge, he turned and looked at his friend. She had opened her soda and was resting her head on her hand, her elbow propped up on the counter. He shrugged, "I don't have an opinion of Jikega…other than wanting to knock his teeth out from time to time,"

Hideki laughed, "Well, we all have that impulse sometimes. It's to be expected."

Raziel gave a short laugh, looking down at his soda before reaching up and pulling a glass out of one cabinet, then walked across the kitchen and pulled a bottle out of another. The container seemed to be a liquor bottle, and the smell wafted over to Hideki as he mixed a small amount with his soda in the glass. Hideki cocked an eyebrow, "Alcoholics anonymous?" she said.

"Please," Raziel scoffed, "I can hold my liquor. This," he held up the glass, "is absolutely nothing." As if capping the fact, he screwed the lid back on the bottle and hid it away back in the cupboard.

"Alright," Hideki sighed, "But if I wander over and you're passed out on the bedroom floor, don't think I'm not taking full advantage of you."

"Should I feel threatened?"

The girl gave him a menacing look, "Oh, yes…"

Raziel laughed, knowing not at all to be threatened by her. After all, he was on her good side.

"So…do you think Shiyu's done with whatever she was doing?"

"I'm not sure," he answered. "She would call, wouldn't she?"

Hideki shrugged before taking another drink of her soda, "Usually."

"Yea…" and without much else, Raziel tilted his head back and downed the rest of his glass.

…………………

"Nice out, isn't it?"

Shiyu nodded, "Yea!" she said, skipping along next to Bakura. He was taller than her by just enough that she could skip while he walked and keep up with him. They were both walking along the path in Domino park, enjoying the ice creams that Bakura had bought. "You really didn't have to," she said.

"It was nothing," he replied with a wave of his hand, "really."

"Alright…" Shiyu said as she licked her scoop of strawberry, "but I'm paying you back!"

"Oh?" Bakura asked, "And how do you suggest you do that?"

"Uhm…" she went red, "haven't decided that, yet…"

The teen chuckled, "Here, why don't we rest here."

Shiyu looked at where Bakura had indicated: they had walked farther than Shiyu ever had before, and she didn't well recognize where they were…but, it was beautiful. The grass was a lush green and the ground had a slight slope, which was shaded by many trees with one large weeping willow sitting at the edge of a clear pool and stream, which the teens both knew flowed out to a river in the park.

"Wow…" the girl breathed, "It's…"

"Beautiful?" Bakura finished.

Shiyu nodded, turning to look at him. "How do you know about this place?"

For a second, she thought she saw the boys eyes flash before turning away, "I come here whenever I'm upset."

The girl felt a rush of sympathy for the boy, and for a second felt as if she knew how much he'd been through in his life. Also, "I'm really honored you'd show me a special place like this," she said truthfully.

He smiled, "It's nothing…" he said, before walking over to the tree and leaning back against it, closing his eyes. Shiyu followed, looking for a moment as if where to sit. Then, quite suddenly, she felt a hand grasp hers – she gasped. "Here," Bakura said as he opened one eye to look up at the girl, "Sit here,"

Then, he pulled her down so she was facing the pool, leaning against him between his legs. She blushed fiercely, glad that he wasn't able to see. "Relax," he told her, "I'm not going to do anything…"

"No, I trust you," she said hastily, "It's just…I guess I was caught off guard,"

"I understand."

Then, the two sat there for a few moments in silence. Eventually, Shiyu relaxed and leaned back against Bakura's chest, smiling to herself. "Comfortable?" he whispered in her ear.

"Very," she replied, easing enough to allow her eyes to fall shut.

………Time Skip, 3 Days…………

"Hit me."

"Uhm…Raz? You're at 19, I think you should say…"

Raziel glared at Junoshi, "You remember Judo class? HIT ME, or I'll hit you…"

Elie grinned, pulled her fist back, and punched her brother.

"HEY!" he jumped up, "What was that for?!"

"You told me to hit you," she said innocently.

Raziel sighed, Junoshi sweat dropped and Hideki gave a nervous laugh. "That was getting boring anyway…Why don't we Duel?"

Junoshi shrugged and pulled out his cards, Hideki cutting his deck while he cut hers. Elie sat near them to watch intently. Raziel stood up, quite sick of card games since the stunt Jikega pulled…. Okay, so it hasn't been proved he was lying, but still… _Why should I trust him?_

Jikega and he had never gotten along. Why should they? The other boy had an aura of slinkiness shrouding him, his presence was oily, and the way he treated Shiyu…

Raziel stood in the hall for a moment. Shiyu… he hadn't heard from her in days. After the weekend, she hadn't showed up to school today… Surely, Jikega hadn't hurt her that bad? Had he said something else Raziel hadn't known about? With a shake of his head, the teen continued the walk to his room.

Which was a good thing, too. Just as he neared his door, his cell phone went off. Curious, Raziel answered it, "Hello?"

"Moshi," came a slightly strangled sounding voice on the other end.

"Shiyu?" Raziel asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yea," the girl replied, "I've just been sick…would you mind telling me what happened in school today?"

Raziel sat on his bed, "Really, nothing," he said, "Just notes, you can copy. You're sick?"

"Woke up with a sore throat," Shiyu said, clearing her throat in the middle of the sentence, "and I couldn't breath. I've been stuck in bed all day."

"I'm sorry," he replied, "When do you think you'll be back on your feet?"

"I'm not sure, but I miss you guys…"

The boys lips twitched upwards in a small smile, "We miss you too. But if you're sick, get some rest. I'll talk to you later okay?"

"Alright," she said, "Thanks, Raziel-kun…"

"No prob, see ya." He hung up. With a sigh, he then heaved himself up and went to his friends in the other room.

"Then," Hideki seemed to be capping off a particularly dramatic combo as he walked in, "I activate this trap card, and end my turn."

Junoshi stayed silent, but Elie pointed out, "WOW! That wipes out ALL of his life points!"

Hideki sweat dropped, "That was the point…"

Junoshi groaned, "Why do I even bother TRYING against you…"

"Ignorance," the girl said sweetly.

Raziel sat down into an armchair, paying little attention to what was going on around him, letting his mind wander.

……………………………….

Shiyu felt a rush of warm guilt wash over her. Once again, she has lied to her friends, to Raziel specifically. She'd always cared so much about what that boy thought, especially of her...

To think, this was all because she'd stayed out too late and simply couldn't wake up for school the next day, so she'd stayed home. Now, she was sitting in her room in jeans and a white tee shirt, waiting for Bakura to call her. He was coming over today. Shiyu's parents wouldn't be around much – they were going on a trip soon, if she'd remembered right. They mentioned going to Canada for awhile.

She jumped slightly as the phone rang, seeing Bakura's ID, she answered it. "Moshi?"

"Hey," Bakura answered, "How are you love?"

Shiyu smiled, her cheeks tingeing pink. "I'm fine…" she muttered shyly, "You?"

"Better," Bakura replied, "Now that I'm talking to you…"

This was how he'd continuously talked to her now. It seemed he was flirting, more than usual, and he would speak in a more casual tone as the days came and went. Normally, when she'd answer the phone he'd say 'moshi moshi' or 'hello' rather that use teenage slang. It didn't bother her at all, though. The flattery he gave her often made her nervous, only because she didn't know how to reply.

"Are we still on for today?" He asked.

Shiyu nodded, blushing when she realized he couldn't see her. "Yes. I just need to finish getting some things ready."

"Sounds great," he said with a smile in his voice, "Call me when you're done?"

"Of course," she said with a smile. "Promise."

"Great, I'll let you get done then. Bye,"

"Bye," Then she hung up.

Shiyu didn't get up, but rather fell back onto her bed, staring at her ceiling. The guilt inside of her began to creep back up her throat and fight with the giddiness that tickled her insides. It was an awkward feeling.

With a sigh, the girl heaved herself up and into her bathroom to get ready for the day ahead of her.

…………………..

Me: Gah!

Yami: Took you long enough!

Me: I know. Gomen, gomen –bow bow- school started, and I'm in all these honors classes and clubs…

Yami: Show off

Me: -glare-

Yami: -silent-

Me: Anyway, PLEASE read and review. It'd be MUCH MUCH appreciated!! I'll update ASAP!!


	10. Penne and Flowers

Me: Don't say a word.

Yami: -eating Turkey- I can't believe it took you until Thanksgiving to get a new chapter.

Me: TT I got a new job and school and stress guys. Not to mention, its Christmas time soon and all of you who are in Orchestra/Symphony/Band, you know what that means…

Yami: -shakes head- Excuses, excuses…

Me: -smack- DO YOUR JOB!

Yami: -cowers, dropping drumstick- Read and Review, the Authoress owns nothing from YuGiOh and this is her own original idea……

Me: Now….on with the fic!

Staring at the person in the mirror ahead of her, Shiyu scrutinized her face. She had good cheek bones for what she knew, and large eyes with pale skin and that matched her blonde hair…she was one of the few winters with a light hair color, and the pink mixed in with it truly brightened her eyes and lips. Turning her attention now to the counter below her, she scanned her make up and hair things, wondering how she should make herself up today.

Dusting a light, shimmering eye shadow over her lids before she applied her mascara and eyeliner did it for her eyes, and a thin layer of Vaseline over her lips gave them a glossy, soft look. But, what for her hair?

With a shrug, she grabbed her phone and dialed Bakura's number. She didn't need to impress him…

"Hello?" He said as he answered after a few rings.

"Hey," she said, "I'm ready."

"Great!" He said, "Perfect timing."

Confused, Shiyu blinked and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Well, uhm…" Bakura gave a slight laugh, "Could you possibly open the door in a few seconds?"

Completely bewildered, Shiyu ran down her stairs to her front door and peeked out a window to see none other than Bakura's car on the street. Still holding her phone in one hand, she threw the door open and gasped.

She didn't see her friend, but she did see a giant basket of different, exotic flowers with Bakura's legs. "Baku?"

"Yes," came a strained voice, "Uhm, is there anywhere I can put these? Uh…whoa…!"

The basket started to waver to one side. Shiyu rushed and grabbed it, steadying it and leading her friend into the house. "What are these for?" she asked.

"Your parents," he replied less labouredly, "They're leaving tomorrow, aren't they?"

Shiyu blinked, surprised he'd remembered when she herself hadn't. "Yes…" she said, then noticed he also had one hand behind his back. "Baku?" she questioned, "What are you hiding?"

"Oh," a suddenly sly, yet charming look came to Bakura's yes, causing the young girl to blush, "Your parents aren't the only ones who get a present."

With a flourish of his arm, the withdrew a bouquet of red and white roses. Shiyu gasped and took a step back. "B…Baku…" she stuttered, "You…why'd you..?"

"I wanted to show these flowers how beautiful you were," he said smoothly, "Besides, a pretty girl needs pretty things, right?"

Still in complete shock, Shiyu just continued to stare at the flowers in her arms. "Oh, Bakura…"

The pale teen gave off a nervous laugh and scratched the back of his head, "Really, it was nothing…"

Before he could finish his sentence, however, the girl had her arms thrown around his neck in a hug, "That's so sweet of you!!"

A flash danced across Bakura's eyes before he blushed. "How about we get those in some water?" he whispered in her ear, "We can set them up in your room?"

Pulling away, Shiyu nodded, "Let me grab a vase and I'll be right up,"

Taking that as an invitation, Bakura strolled up to the young girls room while she ran off to find a vase for the flowers. As he reached his destination, his eyes flashed, and his entire demeanor gave off a darker vibe. Bowing his head, he gave off a dark chuckle.

With a flash of pale light, there was a groan as Bakura stepped to the side. In his place, he appeared to still be there, but as the mere shadow of a much softer, docile teen. This images eyes rolled back into his head as he fell to his hands and knees with a thud. "Yami…" came a whisper so soft, it seemed to come only from inside Bakura's own head.

"Shhh, Ryou…" Bakura, hands in pockets, knelt to the shadows eye level. "Save your strength. It won't be too long until you faint in your current state…"

"Why have you taken my body, Yami?" Ryou asked, turning his eyes skyward to look at his other.

A small smirk played across his face, "Sweet Ryou, you're not so innocent anymore…" He brushed his hand against the shadowed boys cheek, "Not so easily intimidated…"

Ryou didn't so much as flinch the entire time his other towered over him. Truth was, he wasn't frightened of his yami anymore. He'd developed endurance, speed, and strength. Sadly though, the spirit was still stronger, and mentally able to hold Ryou in his soul room. "So you control my body in order to dominate me?"

Once again, Bakura chuckled softly, but in a more amused fashion. "No, Ryou…. This has little to do with you. I simply needed to acquire your body as a vessel and way to find a new method of domination…"

Ryou blinked in confusion and opened his mouth to ask the spirit what he meant, but was interrupted by a sweet sounding voice. "Thank you SO much for the flowers, Baku!" a girl said, "They're so gorgeous…"

At that, the spirits other half looked at Bakura in horror. "Akifa, you can't!" he cried desperately. "How old is she?"

Bakura grinned, but otherwise said nothing. The sound of someone coming up the stairs was soon heard, and in a panic Ryou jumped towards the spirit, clutching the lapels of his white shirt. "Bakura, don't do this! You…"

The sentence was broken off as a wave of dizziness washed over the boy, and he fell to the ground before fading away. Bakura shook his head, "I warned him not to spend his energy…"

The door opened just in time for Bakura to turn around and see the girl holding the vase of flowers. All smiles as she walked in, she carried them over to a desk top and set them down. "They're so wonderful…" she sighed.

Bakura smiled and strolled over, his act still in play. "I thought you'd like them," he said gently as he wrapped his arms around her waist and set a head on her shoulder.

"…It's hard to believe…" she whispered to herself, "that anyone would want to be so…nice to me…"

Turning her around carefully, Bakura took his finger under her chin and lifted her head up. "How so?" he asked, "You're amazing…"

Before the girl could argue, the boy carefully closed his eyes and the gap between them, pressing his lips to hers in a sentimental fashion.

Shiyu's heart stopped in shock before she allowed her body to relax and kiss him back. He felt so warm, it was so comforting… She pressed her body tighter against his, granting him permission to her body.

Bakura smirked into the kiss, and pulled the girl closer.

Ryou, who'd blacked out from his sudden rush and weakness, came too after feeling a strange presence. Opening his eyes slowly, he looked ahead at the blurred image suddenly set like concrete in front of his face. He rubbed his eyes to see if the image would clear up, then blinked several times before he felt his heart sink.

There, tangled in Bakura's arms like a helpless animal, was a sweet looking girl appearing to be aged around 16. She had soft blonde and pink hair, and pale skin with a rosy blush across her cheeks. Her waif like body scared Ryou. If Bakura got his hands on her in the wrong way…

"I have to stop this…" Ryou whispered to himself.

Meanwhile, outside the boys mental cage, the couple separated only at the sound of a closing door, followed by Shiyu's mothers voice saying "Oh, My! Look at these lovely orchids!"

Bakura opened his eyes and was staring at the face of the young girl in his arms, _I truly did make a nice choice,_ he thought to himself as the girl opened her eyes slowly.

"My parents…" she said, stepping back slightly. "I don't want to stop…but…"

"I understand," Bakura said softly, tracing a thumb across her bottom lip. "Perhaps we should spend some time with your parents before they leave..?"

Shiyu smiled, "I think they'd like that," she said, taking his hand and leading him down the stairs, not even noticing his sadistic grin behind her back.

….. ….. …..

Shiyu lay in her bed that night, staring at her ceiling. She was completely giddy from the nights events – the flowers, Bakura surprising her parents, and especially the cooking he'd done for them. Making a wonderful Italian dish her father couldn't even pronounce were a few definite brownie points.

"Where'd you learn to do this, Bakura?" Shiyu's mother had asked in awe as he served the carefully prepared noodles and sauces on their plates.

"It was one of the trips my father went on," Bakura replied, "While he went out on his digs, I stayed back at the house we were staying in. It was his friends, and they had a maid who would let me help her in the kitchen. I picked up on it quite easily, if I do say so."

"Well," Shiyu's father said, "You might just have to give us the recipe!"

Bakura laughed and served him a few more, seeing as he had already finished half of his plate.

Shiyu smiled as she remembered the events of dinner, knowing fully well that Bakura had her parents approval. She sighed in her dreaminess as she thought about her growing crush. He was charming, sweet, handsome…and there was something enticingly mysterious about him…

She was jostled back to reality as she noticed her phone singing to her, informing her of a text message. Pulling it over, she was pleasantly surprised to see it was a text message from Bakura.

"_I just wanted to say goodnight to my angel before she lay her pretty head down and walked across my dreams…_"

Her heart completely melted, she text back, "Baku-kun, you're so sweet to me…" was it just her, or could she feel her heart ache just a little?" "I wish I could meet someone like you who'd love me…"

A few minutes went by, nothing back. Five more minutes passed. Ten. Shiyu began to get nervous, thinking she'd struck a nerve. Had he assumed she was fishing for compliments? Hastily she text back a short apology.

"_No, Its not that…_" she read his reply.

"Then what is it…?" her hands began to feel like ice.

"_I…well, I was just working up the courage too…well..._"

Curious, she replied, "Yes…?"

"_Shiyu…I think I honestly do love you._"

Stunned, she replied back with shaky hands, "Really?"

"_Yes…Would you…you wouldn't mind…wow, I really don't know how to ask this…_"

Shiyu smiled. He was so adorable…she could just imagine him stuttering in real life, his sweet words clumsily tumbling over his pink lips. "Just ask, Bakura hon. :)"

"_Alright. Well, you wouldn't mind possibly being…with me? Romantically, that is?_"

Shiyu, all smiles, replied back "I'd love to."

"_Great!!! Thank you!! I mean, uhm…wow….I have a girlfriend…the girl of my dreams: )_"

Shiyu laughed, "You're so cute!"

"_Not nearly as you, my dear. Speaking of dreams, we should be getting to sleep. Then I can see you sooner._"

"Alright," she sent, "Goodnight."

Placing her phone back on her nightstand, Shiyu rolled over, all smiles on her face, not knowing what she was in for.

Me: Yayyyy its done!

Yami: And it only took 4 days.

Me: -whack-

Yami: x.X

Me: Alright, so. It was short, but it had a bit, didn't it? Eh? Haha.

Yami: -silent-

Me: Thanks right, geezer. Anyway, review, please. Also, just a fun filled tip – I was listening to "I Used To Love Her" by Guns N Roses while writing this :D

Yami: -twitch-

Me: …uh oh….


End file.
